Nebuchadnezzar
/ˌnɛb.juˈkæd.nə.zər/noun
A name borne by several Babylonian kings, especially Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled Babylon from 605 to 562 BCE.
Did you know?The name invokes Nabu, the Mesopotamian god of writing and wisdom, whose cult linked literacy, destiny, and royal authority.
Etymological Timeline
Early 1st Millennium BCE
Akkadian
Nabû-kudurri-uṣur
“A Babylonian royal name invoking Nabu and asking him to protect the heir or eldest son; the precise meaning of kudurru is debated.”
6th Century BCE
Neo-Babylonian Akkadian
Nabû-kudurri-uṣur
“The name of Nebuchadnezzar II, king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.”
6th Century BCE
Biblical Hebrew
נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר (Nəvūḵaḏneṣṣar)
“The Hebrew form used for the Babylonian king in the Hebrew Bible.”
3rd–2nd Century BCE
Koine Greek
Ναβουχοδονόσορ (Nabouchodonosor)
“The Greek biblical and historical form of the king’s name.”
4th Century CE
Latin
Nabuchodonosor
“The Latin form transmitted through Christian biblical and historical writing.”
Modern English
English
Nebuchadnezzar
“The conventional English form of the Babylonian royal name, especially associated with Nebuchadnezzar II.”
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